Giles Babcock (![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} one_of_twelve) wrote in ![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} valarlogs,@ 2013-06-25 19:58:00 |
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Where: Kirsty's Home
What: An encounter with a husk
When: Monday
Warnings/Rating: Major violence
Status: Complete
Babcock had long ago accepted that he lived in an insane world, a world that didn’t work in the ways that everyone else insisted. So when he saw glowing creatures rushing down a street and tearing people apart, his immediate thought wasn’t how it was possible or to question his insanity. His immediate thought was that he had to make sure Kirsty was okay.
He reached the house quickly, leaving the car door open as he rushed toward the front door. He felt a sudden clutch at his heart; the front door was wide open. Duke was barking.
Kirsty had been able to sense the thing before she’d seen it. She’d crawled on her belly to the safe spot in her living room - under the coffee table - and prayed that Duke would be okay. Unholstering her gun, she kept a bead on the monster, eyes open, hands still.
Giles began to move more slowly, taking careful steps through the hall. He could hear the creature - not quite breathing but making a noise like a relentless chewing - and knew to keep silent. He felt instincts from a past life, a time when he was One of Twelve, fall into place.
Then he saw it. If it had been human before, it wasn’t now: tubes and veins ran over it’s body glowing a dark metallic blue, it’s eyes were spotlights permanently wedged open. It turned to him, and screeched. For whatever ridiculous reason, he wasn’t afraid. It began to move toward him with alarming speed, and then he heard the barking. The creature spun in the direction of Duke, who came skidding into the room with teeth bared. Babcock seized his opportunity, and suddenly his thick arms were tightened around the monster’s neck. The sensation burned. The creature shrieked and flailed it’s limbs in protest, surprising Babcock with it’s incredible strength.
Finally, he got a good hold, and he put all his power into pulling in both directions. The beast’s neck snapped with such force that he knew the flesh was all that was keeping it’s head still in place. The limbs stopped moving, and Babcock dropped the corpse.
Kirsty could hear Duke barking, could hear the gnashing of a creature in pain, could hear something thudding. But before she could congratulate whoever it was that had killed the creature, she heard a gnashing of teeth behind her.
The coffee table went down with a kick, something for the monster to have to fight over and figure out, buying her precious seconds. In that moment she figured out where to shoot and squeezed the trigger. Countless late nights at the firing range finally paid off as what she thought might have been the monster’s head exploded, sending a hail of gunk over her television.
“Ew,” she muttered, gun still drawn. She still had to look through the remainder of the house before she would rest.
Giles took a step back when the new creature entered, and then Kirsty had appeared out of fucking nowhere. “Kirsty,” he said, when the monster lay dead. “Kirsty.” He found himself walking toward her very fast, and then he had his arms around her very tight.
All of the anger she’d had toward him melted away. She walked toward him as well, wrapping her arms around whatever parts of him he could reach. “You okay?” She could feel Duke winding through Giles’ legs too, ever so glad to greet his master.
“I saw those things in the street, and I thought you, uh...” he began, stumbling on his words as he buried his face in her hair. “I’m sorry. I love you, I love you, I love you.” He became quickly aware that he was unintentionally lifting her off her feet, in his embrace.
She smiled sadly, eeping a little when he lifted her up. “I love you too, Giles.” It was sweet, that in times of danger she was his first thought. “We should barricade up the house so no more of those fuckers get in. I’m more worried about Duke than anything else.”
Babcock kissed her. “I want to take you to the bar,” he said with some insistence. “Big strong doors, more into the city, Kasumi has told me about these fuckers. She knows how to handle ‘em best.”
“Can we take Duke?” This reminded her of the plot of a movie she’d seen once. But as long as they were safe, it didn’t matter. “She’s dreamed about these things?”
“Yeah, of course,” said Giles. “She dreamed about ‘em, yeah. She and her pals, they dreamed about some big-ass Star Wars stuff.” He paused for a moment, and then avoided her eyes. “I’m sorry I was a jerk. I just....I dunno why I do the things I do.”
“It’s okay. I know he’s not your favorite person, and that’s fine. I don’t want you to like him just because I do. Maybe just ignore him?” Kirsty smiled as she let her head rest against his chest. “I wasn’t going to leave you or anything. Maybe just smack you with my baton a bit.”
Babcock smiled just a little, kissing her on the head. “Is that meant to be a punishment?” he asked gently.
“Now that you mention it, that’d probably be a shitty punishment, huh.” She moved away from him only long enough to grab a bag and fill it with Duke’s dog stuff.
Babcock walked to the husk, nudging it with his foot. It was certainly dead; the neck was twisted at an almost 360 degree angle. “Fuck these things. And thanks, for saving my ass. Not sure if I could take one of ‘em straight on.”
“Didn’t you?” Kirsty holstered her gun, swinging the backpack onto her shoulders once it was full.
"From behind. Straight-on, they're strong bastards. Saw one tearing into a car on the way here," he said, casting a careful look out the window. "You ready?"
Kirsty nodded. “Yeah. Let’s get to the car, then you can drive there.”